Page 48 of The Summer We Mended
She smiled, despite the pang, glad to see that the darkness that hung over the house the past year had lifted.Her mother sat on a kitchen stool, laughing with Claudia and Margot.The color in her cheeks and light in her eyes was enough to reassure Anna once again that they would all be okay.
“Anna, quit stalling,” Cody said, nudging her knee with his foot.He was seated across from her at the table, cards in one hand, beer in the other.“Some of us are trying to win here.”
“Oh, is that what you’re trying to do?”she shot back, grinning.“Because all I see is a pile of trash in your hand.”
Jess snorted from where she sat beside Cody, her own cards held tight against her chest.“Trash talk from the girl who just picked up the ten of clubs like it was a golden ticket.”
“Hey, that ten has potential,” Anna said, squinting at her hand again.“Unlike Cody’s fashion sense.”
“I’m right here,” Cody said, laughing.
The kids giggled from the floor, where they were sorting game pieces and stealing sips of lemonade.Someone had put on an old playlist, and ’90s hits floated through the air, mingling with the smell of brownies fresh from the oven.
Anna finally laid down a few cards and then groaned when Cody immediately called, “Gin!”
“You have got to be kidding me,” she said, throwing her hands in the air.
“Never,” Cody said, laying out his hand with exaggerated flair.
“Ugh, he’s the worst,” she told Jess, who was already laughing.
“You walked right into it,” Jess said, nudging her with her shoulder.
It felt good to laugh like this.Not the polite, surface-level chuckles she’d become accustomed to.This was belly-deep, tear-in-your-eye laughter.Safe laughter.The kind that only came from being completely yourself with the people who knew you best.
They kept playing, round after round, with scores scrawled on a torn notepad and rules constantly bent to favor whoever was losing.They teased and bickered and reminisced about their childhood games, the way her dad used to sneak candy to them under the table, how Uncle Henry once tried to cheat by hiding cards in his sock, or how Jess used to demand theme music for every hand she played.
At one point, Anna leaned back against her chair and just watched everyone.The room glowed under the soft light of the table lamps.There was a sense of ease, of wholeness, even in the face of the pieces that were missing.
Her mom caught her gaze from across the room and gave her a little wink.Tears stung Anna’s eyes but she blinked them away quickly.There was nothing to be sad about tonight.Tonight was about remembering what it felt like to be full.To be seen.To be part of something that had roots deeper than pain.
Eventually, the game dissolved into chaos as the kids begged for their turn and rules devolved into shrieks of laughter and declarations of “That’s not fair!”The adults gave in, because no one could say no to a six-year-old in fairy wings and a glitter crown.
Anna found herself seated at the edge of the carpet, helping her niece sort the deck and pretending not to notice when the little girl kept dealing herself all the jokers.Cody was showing Blaze how to properly shuffle, though he kept messing up just enough to make him laugh.Jess had migrated to the couch with her mom, their heads together in quiet conversation.
Uncle Henry was retelling a story from his youth with dramatic flair, a red Solo cup in one hand, the other gesturing wildly.
“So there I was,” he said, eyes wide, “stranded on the lake, one paddle, no map, and your Aunt Claudia on the verge of tossing me overboard.”
Claudia rolled her eyes but smiled.“Because you told me you knew a shortcut, Henry.We ended up stuck in lily pads for two hours.”
Laughter erupted.Margot leaned back in her chair, sipping lemonade.“Classic Henry.You and your ‘shortcuts.’Between you and my Will, I don’t know how we ever ended up anywhere on time.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard an Uncle Henry story that didn’t involve a shortcut.”
“They always end in disaster and a good story,” Jess said with a grin.
Cody chuckled.“Disaster’s a strong word.I prefer ‘unexpected adventure.’”
“Like the time he tried to deep-fry a turkey in the garage,” Anna added.
Henry held up a finger.“That was science.”
“It was nearly arson,” Lily said, carrying a bowl of fruit salad.
Maisie grinned up at Anna, cheeks flushed.“Auntie Anna, can we have popsicles yet?”
“Did you eat something real?”Anna said, pretending to be stern.
